Fear
by Unidentified Pie
Summary: When all is said and done, Izayoi was still a somewhat inhuman child raised in a human world. Humans can be cruel, and they fear what they do not know. And what humans fear, they hurt. Izayoi's been hurt once or twice, or multiple times, but no longer. Now he's just bored, and he hates the world. Can Canaria change his mind?
1. Empty

**A/N:**

**Hi! This is my first fanfic, so I'm really nervous, but I hope that people will read this and enjoy. I'm still an amateur writer, but I hope to get better, so any reviews or constructive criticism will be much appreciated!**

**Also, if Izayoi seems OOC in this chapter, it's 'cos he's still young, and little kids act differently from teenagers, right?**

Chapter 1

They'd left him in the orphanage, dumped him there like he was trash, even though they'd promised to be there for him. And it hurt, it really, really _hurt_, damn it.

And he wanted to pretend it was okay, he wanted to not cry, but he didn't know how, and it was just no fair, because they had promised. They had promised, even signed all the dumb contracts and everything, and then they'd left him all alone, and excuse him if it hurt like hell and his eyes stung and he wanted to cry. Excuse him for being sad and lonely since everyone looked at him like he was some sort of monster, some sort of trash, even though they played and talked and laughed nicely with everyone else. It wasn't like it was perfectly justified that he had wanted a family and people to be kind to him, instead of this - this loneliness and emptiness and hollowness that stemmed from having absolutely no idea what to do to fix things and why these things were even happening in the first place.

Because it hurt, damn it. It hurt so, so much, even if he was considered a nuisance, a problem child, a monster, a terrifying, less than human thing.

(Or perhaps he was more than human, and that was why everyone was afraid of him.)

At the very least, he was something not entirely human, and apparently non-humans were not entitled to things that humans typically wanted, needed, desired or craved. They were apparently not entitled to feeling, or caring, or wanting things.

Which, in Izayoi's opinion, was total bullcrap.

Because it hurt, it freaking hurt, his heart aching and tattered as if the net the people had used to catch his heart had pulled against it and tore through the flesh, tightening around the raw, bleeding appendage as Izayoi clutched at his chest and slumped against the door. He was crying, warm tears trickling down his face and dripping slowly off his chin. He wanted to know what it was like, to be able to laugh like the rest of the children when they played together, what it was like to smile up at people who cared and wanted nothing but the best for you.

Resting his head against the hard wood of the door, Izayoi's mouth opened, his lips parting in a silent scream, a wail of rage and pain that would never be heard by anyone in the world as his tears poured down his cheeks and soaked the collar of his shirt.

_I hate this._

_I hate this._

_I hate this._

_I hate this stupid world._

* * *

><p>It was so hollow, so empty and meaningless and absolutely boring. The blocks clicked against each other as he built them up, forming a beautiful, multicoloured masterpiece that tumbled down at a sweep of his hand. He'd been placed in this room because he'd been fighting with some other kid, who'd been mean first, but somehow, as ever, Izayoi had been blamed and punished, and locked in the stupid, boring room with nothing but a box of bricks, which he stacked and knocked over in a long, boring, repetitive cycle, eyes staring blankly and absently as his mind wandered.<p>

He'd been in five homes had so far, and two orphanages, and he'd stopped hurting as soon as he'd learnt to stop trusting, and stop allowing the tempting warmth of a family snag his heart. Once he had done that, they had had no net to hold him down with, nothing to hold his heart or hurt it, just as Izayoi liked. He felt so much freer now, because he could do anything, absolutely anything he wanted to do, and nobody could do anything to stop him. He could help himself to sweets in shops, and food when there wasn't enough to go around in the orphanage. He could brawl with anyone he wanted, anytime, and play with anyone he could find.

And right then, he thought, standing up and walking to the door that separated him and the rest of the orphanage, he could simply break down the door and leave. Smirking much too devilishly for a child only four, Izayoi drew back a fist and slammed it into the door, feeling the wood crack and splinter under his knuckles as the door bent in from the impact with a loud crunching, splintering sound. With a loud bang, it fell away from it's frame and Izayoi smiled, strolling out to grin at those who had come running to investigate the noise.

It did not hurt. It didn't hurt at all that they were staring at him like he was a monster, that their eyes were filled with pure, unadulterated fear or that they were all trembling, the adults leading the children away from 'that freak'.

Not at all. They did not hold his heart, and so he did not feel pain.

Instead, Izayoi laughed, a loud, hearty, scornful laugh, and ran. He turned and ran for the door of the orphanage, smiling and laughing and grinning, eyes sparkling like gems as he tasted freedom on his tongue. It was fall, the leaves piled under the trees in brilliant, multicoloured heaps and crunched under his bare feet. The ground was dry and cool, if a little rough, and the air was crisp and clean. Wind swept his messy blonde hair from his face, and he laughed.

It was a strange sound, carefree and scornful and empty all at the same time. And his smile was hateful, a mix of strange glee and angry bitterness.

And as his laugh and smile showed, Izayoi was empty. He was hollow, empty, and so angry at the world and all its inhabitants.

He held no attachments, no bonds, and nothing could hurt him. He'd been stupid as a kid, given his heart to people who'd cruelly and mercilessly crushed it, taking the bonds he'd trusted them with and turning them into chains that bit into his heart.

But no more. Never again. People were stupid, they were cruel, manipulative, and ostracised those who were different. And they had hurt him one too many times.

He didn't need people anyway - why would he? All his problems were easily solved, and while his solutions may not always be legal, at least they were viable.

It didn't occur to Izayoi that he was only four, and that four-year olds were still children, practically babies, and were supposed to be looked after, probably because nobody had ever really looked after him, and being so intelligent at such a young age made him even more aware and understanding of the cruelty of people and the world. His abilities were more of a curse than a blessing, really, but Izayoi refused to think of that, since because of them, he was able to do anything he wanted.

He hated, sincerely, wholeheartedly, hated the world, which had hurt him and chained him and brought him down too many times. It was such a horrid place, where even the firmest, most earnest promises could crumble with a touch, a single word, where contracts and alliances could not be believed because people simply could not be bothered to keep their word and the contracts, the alliances always, always had a loophole.

Either they had a loophole, or people simply broke them outright.

And he was lonely, so, so lonely, so hollow and empty and meaningless, and everyone looked upon him as a monster, a freak, everyone looked at him like he wasn't a human being, but a tool or a creature to be shunned.

He supposed that this emptiness, this hollowness he felt stemmed from boredom as well, but that was easily solved - he'd just go brawl with some drunkards or someone, or steal something just for the fun of it.

And for the duration of his game, if the game was good enough, most of that hollowness and emptiness really did leave him.

So he made his goal 'to have fun', since the people in the world were all greedy jerks, and Izayoi didn't care anymore.

If he was going to be lonely, he'd get used to it and move on, and get rid of every ounce of his boredom by playing with this stupid world.

* * *

><p>Who were his real, biological parents? What were their names, their faces, their personalities? How had they sounded, and where had they lived? Izayoi did not know, and he didn't care anyway. The younger children in the orphanages always seemed to harbour the hope that there had simply been a mistake, that their parents hadn't wanted to leave them and were still out there, searching desperately for their little lost baby. They dreamt of mothers and fathers, of more than enough food, warm homes, loving hugs and exchanges. They dreamt of being picked up by a loving couple who'd been searching for their child for years, who would play with them and bring them to the park and buy sweets and toys and give them all the love and attention children craved.<p>

Izayoi held no such illusions.

His parents had wanted him? They'd been searching for him for years? Laughable. Completely, utterly laughable. They had wanted a child like him?

Such a disgusting lie.

Who would want him? Who would want a monster like him? He was destined to live a lonely life, and Izayoi could accept that. He could take that loneliness, he could get used to it, and he could live on. He had made that resolution when he was but four years old, and at six, Izayoi had been living it out to the best of his ability.

Parents are people you can rely on? People who will look after you and give you all the love and attention you need?

Izayoi already knew that he could not rely on anyone but himself. Humans were fragile, easily broken by words or shattered by a touch. A good punch from Izayoi, and they'd just die.

Izayoi knew. He'd seen.

Humans were also cruel, hurtful and traitorous, willing to lie and cheat and betray to achieve their ends.

Trust them? How? How did one trust the creatures that lied and betrayed and held ulterior motives in every plan, every deal?

He did not trust people, he did not rely on them, nor did he hold the false hope that they would ever want him. It did not occur to him that he was far too young to be that distrustful, because it was all he knew, all he'd been raised on - the fact that no matter what they said or did, people could not be trusted and the world was full of chaos.

But that was fine too, Izayoi thought, as he bore his loneliness and faced the world, grin firmly in place.

It may be a stupid, cruel, crappy place, and he may hate it, but there was no reason not to have fun with it.

* * *

><p>Izayoi laughed, casting his cares to the wind as he ran across the rooftops. Who cared what people would say? Who cared about hiding his abilities? People would talk all the same, so he might as well have fun.<p>

Having fun. That was all his goal was. He didn't need people's love, and he didn't need people to accept him. Izayoi didn't need a family or a home - he'd gotten far too used to being lonely and alone, until that empty, hollow pain became his constant companion, and he could live with it. He was nine now, and had been tossed from one foster home to another, one orphanage to the next, for his whole life - more than long enough to learn that nobody would want him, and that he didn't need anyone anyway. It had become a never-ending cycle: Out to a foster home, back to the orphanage, off to another foster home, back to the orphanage. Repeat until the orphanage got sick of him, and then off to another orphanage.

It was to be expected. All the people who adopted him had done so in hopes of using his amazing, superhuman abilities for their own gain. They had been swindlers, tax evaders, thieves, drug dealers - all sorts of them. There had actually been one promising home - a couple that had put up with him for nearly four months, and Izayoi had thought that he wouldn't mind being used by them. But they had disappointed him like all the rest, and sent him back a while later. In retaliation, Izayoi had released evidence of their crimes to the television and media, smirking happily as they were convicted. After that, he had resolved to crush anyone who tried to use him, no matter how promising, but this meant that word of the "problem child that got all of his foster parents arrested" spread. Things had gotten so bad that he was kicked from one orphanage to another within one foster home returning him, some orphanages simply shipping him off to another orphanage almost as soon as he arrived. He had been to multiple cities in Japan, and at least fourteen different schools. In each, the teachers had judged him unpredictable, very confident, and uncontrollable, a description in which he revelled.

No one could predict what he was going to do, no one could catch him, no one could control him. He would never let them snag him, never let them hold his heart the way his foster parents had. They had caught his heart and hurt it, had betrayed his trust over and over, until he hadn't been able to stand it anymore.

Izayoi was better off on his own.

His confidence was the result of years of relying on no one but himself - people could not be trusted. He knew that he didn't need anyone to support him, because when he had thought that he needed help, when his heart had been tattered and bleeding and hurting something fierce, when warm and salty tears had been pouring down his face, when he had been hidden in his room stifling sobs, he had been pleading desperately for somebody to save him, to help him from that pain - he'd been only three. But nobody had come, and nobody had helped. They had just kept hurting him, and he had realised that it was so dumb of him to want help from people who would never give it to him. He had never needed it anyway, and once he realised that, Izayoi had learnt how to deal with everything by himself.

It was a confidence gained from the lack of fear which stemmed from having the most terrifying, horrible thing you could ever imagine thrown at you and surviving it all on your own. A lack of fear that comes with the knowledge that your worst fear has been already confirmed, and that there is nothing that can hurt you worse than you have already been, because you have nothing left to lose.

Because really, what's worse than being forced to accept that there is probably no one who will give a damn about you, forced to accept that the people you'd given your heart to wanted nothing more but to use you as a tool to accomplish their selfish goals?

He had nothing left to fear, because he no longer had anything, and if you do not own anything, you cannot lose anything.

And he while he was still a little lonely, Izayoi was so much happier now; with no fears or dependence on others, he was free to live how he liked.

It was exhilarating, running across rooftops with wind whipping in his ears. The brief moment of weightlessness as he leapt from one building to another made him feel like he was flying. Flipping stones into lakes and watching pillars of water erupt amused him to no end, and if he got really bored, Izayoi would go to town and brawl with some drunkards or something.

But on some days, like that one, he ran off to a nice field a few dozen kilometres away - no problem with his speed - and lay on his back among the grass and flowers, gazing at the sky and allowing his mind to wander.

It didn't hurt, he told himself, that he had only been adopted to be used as a tool. What mattered was that the people who had wanted to use him had been unable to use him well. It was no fun, and he had better things to do with his time that follow their lame orders, only to discover that they had no concrete plan. He hadn't liked those people, not at all, and his heart did not hurt because they had cast him away again. His heart was only clenching this way because he was too bored, he told himself. It had been so boring being used by those people, that he had exposed their crimes just to amuse himself after they had wanted to send him back.

It was merely vengeance, because they had wasted his time with all that mind numbing boredom and then wanted to send him away without letting him have any fun. Their lousy minds could just go rot in prison, Izayoi thought, grinning. Perhaps he would pay them a visit, just to laugh at their pathetic state. He had been so stupid as a kid, letting the foster families use him and prancing around for them like a dog, just for them to send him back. He had wanted to expose the fifth family, but he had no evidence, and that was when they had found out they had kicked him back into the orphanage, with the excuse that he was too uncontrollable and was always getting into fights. Nobody would listen to him unless he shoved the evidence right under their noses, and it had infuriated him. Now though, it was simply tedious, an all too easy ritual of gathering the evidence and bringing it to the station. Although, it was an easy way to make money, and Izayoi had gathered quite a hefty sum.

With that, he stood, dusting himself off, and headed back to the orphanage. There was another foster family coming today, and Izayoi hoped that they would at least be interesting, and pose even the smallest challenge when he tried to expose them. The thought that the couple might want to adopt him as a child never crossed his mind - nobody ever adopted him for anything other than to use him.

In turn, he would crush them and expose their crimes. To Izayoi, it was nothing but a never ending, boring game.

The number of interesting, fun games had suffered a serious decline over the years, as Izayoi had learnt more and outgrown the old, boring games he'd once enjoyed, or at least found acceptable.

It was becoming harder to relieve that hollowness and emptiness of boredom.

"Geez. What a boring world."


	2. Canaria

**A/N:**

**I fixed up this chapter with the help of Kanrei's review. I didn't like it much in the first place, and I was wondering how to fix it. I just found inspiration and patched the whole thing up. It's pretty much the same stuff, but with a lot less dialogue and more focus on Izayoi's thoughts, so it comes out quite different from the light novel. All in all, I think it worked out. Please tell me what you think.**

**Thanks so much Kanrei! :3**

**The second half is purely headcanon, and I quite like how the last bit turned out. Izayoi is a little heartless in this chapter, 'cos Canaria is the person who's supposed to give him back his conscience.**

**Thank you for following, and please review so that I can improve my writing or keep going on the right track.**

**Canaria**

**In which Izayoi meets Canaria, and what he does counts for something (though he's not quite sure what).**

The first time he met Canaria, Izayoi was in the ruins of an abandoned facility in the mountains, dripping wet from being out in the storm that had turned the sky black and the world grey. He was bored out of his mind and angry because of it, a burning fury that coursed through his veins, urged on by the powerful, coursing heartbeats that thumped against his chest like the beating of a drum.

The world was stupid and boring and he was realising it with startling, infuriating clarity as he waited in the cold, wet facility for somebody to figure out the clues he'd provided them with and finish the damn game he'd started already, so that he could go back to the orphanage, which was, at least, warm and dry.

He'd amassed money he'd earned from turning his foster parents in, using it to host a game. A simple, _simple_ game that apparently, _nobody_ could play. The first person to find him within the time limit of a week would receive briefcases and briefcases of money, more than enough to be an excellent incentive, and he'd given the participants _clues_. He'd even gone out, deliberately, and wandered about so that they would find him with more ease.

How damn hard was it to find a ten-year-old boy who wasn't even trying very hard to hide?

Four minutes to the end of the game (and, by extension, four minutes to the demolition of half the earth - he was _so bored_ and _so angry_ and it'd relieve _some_ boredom, at least, right?), a petite woman wearing a white overcoat strode in and began talking to him, and Izayoi didn't get to see her until later because she was standing in the shadows, but she had a voice as sweet as a songstress's and a musical, tinkling laugh, and one of the first things Izayoi learnt about her was that she disapproved of foul language - at least, she disapproved of Izayoi's foul language more than she wanted the prize money, if the way she prioritised criticising his language over getting her hands on the case was any indicator.

Which was just plain _strange_.

And she _knew_ about Izayoi somehow, knew about his problem child tendencies and the foster homes and orphanages - sorry, _welfare organisations_ (the name made him want to laugh; since when had any orphanage cared about his welfare?) - he'd been in.

She knew about all twenty four welfare organisations and thirty-one pairs of foster parents. She also knew that amongst the foster parents, twenty-one of the adoptees had been convicted of having committed some sort of crime on the sly, and that no foster parents or orphanages dared to take him in anymore.

_Well_.

In turn, Izayoi learnt that she'd had no trouble finding the briefcases of money he'd hidden in the deepest recesses of the ruins, apparently slipping past multiple traps he'd set up and dismantling one of them. But she hadn't taken the money and gone - she'd just come back out and met him in the facility, which told Izayoi she wasn't too interested in the cash.

And she said she was more interested in Izayoi.

Which would, of course, be the case. He was intelligent - far more so than any child had a right to be - and strong enough to shatter the world into tiny, irreparable bits of jagged edges and rough sides. He was the boy who no orphanage or foster home could keep, the non-human that could kill a man with a sweep of his arm.

Izayoi knew this. He also knew that the woman - Canaria, he learnt her name was - knew it too.

She was smart. Smarter than anyone else he'd ever met, smart enough to figure out his identity from a picture he'd posted on the internet as a challenge, a picture of the twenty briefcases of money and the note he'd stuck on them; the note which had explained the rules of his game. Smart enough to realise that the picture had been taken to mislead the crowds; that the background of the photo could not be used to decipher his location.

She gave him tips on how to improve any games he hosted in the future.

When she finally stepped out of the shadows, Izayoi found that she had short flaxen hair that fell in golden waves to her shoulders, and emerald eyes that sparked with reflected light. She looked to be in her early twenties, was unexpectedly beautiful with delicate, well-proportioned features, and had also apparently climbed the mountain in a white overcoat and high-heeled black boots.

He called her a hag.

* * *

><p>When Canaria said that she wanted him to admit his loss with a "sense of defeat", he allowed killing intent to leak out, annoyed by her audacity.<p>

She had won the game. But he had not been trying hard. He had hardly been putting much effort into it, after he'd discovered how _stupid_ most of the earth's inhabitants were.

Izayoi had been going easy on them, and Canaria had barely been able to find him in time.

And, above all, it was not in him to _bow his head_ and give up defeatedly. It was pathetic and weak and humiliating - it was also the perfect opening or the opponent to kick him while he was down. He was not going to _ever_ say _anything_ defeatedly; showing a sense of defeat revealed _weakness_, weakness that could be deadly, weakness that could be used against him.

He expected Canaria to back away, or maybe even reveal fear, after he loosened his tight control over his killing intent and allowed some to blast out, washing over everything in a furious, chilling wave.

Instead, she wasn't even fazed, and then she asked him why he'd hosted the game.

And...

Izayoi didn't know. He didn't know anymore, after waiting and waiting and waiting and being so so so _bored_ for a whole week, he didn't _know_ anymore.

And then Canaria told him. She told him why he'd hosted the game; it was so that he could find somebody comparable to his own power, so that he could have a high tension, heart pounding, blood racing, _exciting_ contest, and she was right. She was completely, absolutely, definitely correct.

It infuriated him. He'd wanted somebody to play with, somebody to challenge him so that his mind would be so damned bored, so that his mind wouldn't fall to bits with the sheer boredom of it all.

In the wake of that, how pathetic was the stupid game he'd ended up with?

Restless and annoyed, he slammed a foot down, smashing into the floorboards and shaking the entire facility to it's foundations. A wall collapsed, allowing a violent gale of wind and rain to blow in and revealing the dark skies where lighting danced.

Canaria just watched unflinchingly, and then she strode up to him, standing right in front of him so that the top Izayoi's head was only level with her chest.

Unconsciously, he took a step back.

She told him that a host was responsible for congratulating the victor of the game. She wanted him to admit defeat.

"And when your game has ended..." she said, before she uttered a few words, a handful of words that changed his life.

"Let's start a new game together."

* * *

><p>Izayoi was stunned into silence, shocked into speechlessness.<p>

Admittedly, he gaped, rather stupidly, at her, eyes wide with shock as he froze, unable to respond.

He'd never foreseen those words. He'd never thought she'd want to play a game. He'd been so sure for so long that nobody would want to associate with him, unless it was to use him.

So what was this?

He didn't understand. He _couldn't_ understand. It went against everything he'd ever known about humans.

Canaria had won the game. She had the satisfaction of beating Izayoi, and would receive a few million yen, twenty briefcases worth of money. The game was _over_, she could leave, and Izayoi would go back to being bored. Her objectives were fulfilled, she need not ever interact with Izayoi again.

But she was choosing to stay.

So he asked the only question that would give him an understandable response.

"Then… the game's prize is?"

Canaria knelt so that she was at Izayoi's eye level, startling him as she inclined her head so that their foreheads touched. He very nearly jumped, and his eyes widened even further as he stared into hers, which sparkled with a mischievous light.

But he didn't pull away.

* * *

><p>Her answer didn't help him understand.<p>

Her answer made no sense.

Her answer confused him more.

Canaria said, "if I win… I can get a sharp tongued son. If you win... Then I will always be your playmate for life. An additional condition would be: I will also prepare a great place for you to rest and relax. How about that?"

Izayoi was lost.

Even if he became Canaria's 'son', he could still try to gather evidence to turn her in if she got boring, and even if he couldn't, she seemed intelligent enough to provide him with entertainment.

And if he won, she was interesting enough to be a fun playmate, plus, having a great, safe place to rest and relax seemed appealing enough.

But he could not comprehend why she'd even want him as her son, and as much as he puzzled over it, Izayoi was utterly stumped. Canaria seemed intelligent enough to understand that Izayoi becoming her foster son did not necessarily force him to obey her, so it seemed unlikely that her ulterior motive was using him, but if that was so, then Izayoi had no clue as to what was going on. Izayoi... Izayoi wouldn't make a very good son. It had been proven thirty-one times over.

The terms were too loose. If Izayoi lost... He didn't think that there was much Canaria stood to gain.

Placing his hand on the back of his head, Izayoi weighed the benefits and possible problems in the game prizes, before finally giving an exaggerated nod.

And when he finally admitted his defeat - which was _not_ the same as giving in with a sense of defeat - Canaria reached out her hand and took Izayoi's, tugging him along as if he was an ordinary, completely normal ten-year-old child.

And, once again, Izayoi didn't resist, walking hand in hand with Canaria to the door.

And suddenly, the horribly boring, stupid world seemed a bit more interesting, and a little more fun.

* * *

><p>"Izayoi-chan, what do you think of the world?" Canaria asked from Izayoi's side.<p>

Izayoi stared out at the expanse of water, which sparkled softly in the evening light and gave off a soft orange glow. The two stood side by side at the end of the jetty, watching the sun set over the sea.

"I hate it." He said sincerely. "It's stupid and crappy and filled with stupid, boring people." Filled with far too much horror and greed and pain, and far too boring, far too stupid. "What are you doing?" Izayoi asked as Canaria suddenly dropped to kneel on the ground, pulling out a map and unrolling it with much gusto.

"There are plenty of wonderful things in the world, Izayoi-chan. You just have to be able to find them."

"I bet they're all crappy."

"I'll prove that they're not. It's time to start operation 'Get Izayoi-chan to like the world'!" She exclaimed enthusiastically as she held down the edges of the map. "Where would you like to go, Izayoi-chan?"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"Since you shall become my son once I win this game, it's only right that I start teaching him the basics in life, such as loving the world you live in."

"What makes you think you'll win, stupid smelly obaasan?"

"How rude! Obviously I'm planning to win the game and get a sharp-tongued son."

"And as I told you, I'm not planning to let you win."

"We'll see. So, pick somewhere you want to go. I picked the seaside this time, since you said you'd never seen it before. It's your turn."

"I can pick any place I want? No conditions?" Izayoi asked as he knelt beside Canaria.

"It has to be a place on earth, and cannot be at the bottom of the sea, deep in a volcano, or something equally deadly." Canaria deadpanned.

"I actually value my life, stupid obaasan."

"Yeah, yeah. Take your pick, Izayoi-chan. And stop calling me that while you're at it. I have a name, and it's Canaria." Izayoi just continued peering over the map, apparently ignoring Canaria's every word.

"Oi, smelly obaasan." He said. Canaria sighed exasperatedly.

"Geez! Were you even listening to me?"

"Let's go to Iguazu Falls." Izayoi gestured at the map in the general area of the falls.

"Fine with me. But why would you want to go there?"

"There's a demon rumoured to live there, right?" He asked, still staring at the map. "It should be interesting to find and defeat it."

"That's true. Alright then, Izayoi-chan. We'll make preparations and arrange the trip tomorrow, and we shall depart on Thursday."

"Alright." Izayoi stretched widely before shoving his hands back in his pockets. "What do you want to do now?"

"Ever seen fireflies before?"

"Nope." There had been no point, in Izayoi's opinion, and not many opportunities to see them. He had decided that it was not worth the bother of hunting them down just to watch some boring, glow-in-the-dark bugs fly around and buzz in his ears.

Canaria grabbed Izayoi's hand, pulling him along, and Izayoi trailed somewhat reluctantly after her.

"It will be interesting, at the very least." She told him, and Izayoi cast her a doubtful, disbelieving look.

"We're going to watch some glow-in-the-dark bugs fly around in circles." He said. "How do you expect that to be interesting?"

"Just come. The world is meant to be explored. At the very least, Izayoi-chan, since you're already bored with the world, you should try and explore new things instead of simply writing them off as boring and crappy." Izayoi could see some truth in that, and Canaria took his silence as agreement, or at least realised that he was thinking about her words. "Correct? If you cannot find amusement or excitement in the things you already see, hear and know, you can find interest in learning and exploring new things."

Izayoi definitely saw a point in that.

And thus, the boy found himself standing in a clearing in a marsh nearby, staring around at the numerous, flying light sources, which whirled around him like some sort of glowing hurricane, albeit less violent and turbulent.

It was, admittedly, a very beautiful and somewhat magical scene, with the glowing lights dancing above the marsh in the darkness of the night, the air cold around him and the warmth of another by his side.

"What do you think, Izayoi-chan?"

"Mm…" It was fine, he supposed, and a lot more interesting than he'd thought it would be.

"Well, you seem less bored than usual."

"I guess." He replied, glancing away so he didn't have to meet Canaria's eye. A chiming laugh echoed around the clearing as he watched a firefly fly by with unusual interest.

"I told you it would be fun."

"Shut up, shitty hag."

"What?! Stop with that disrespectful way of addressing me. You should be politely regarding me as 'Canaria-oneesan'."

"Cut the crap. There's no way a hag like you could be my oneesan." Canaria took in an irritated breath, obviously about to launch into a long, enraged tirade, and Izayoi turned away, feigning disinterest as he glanced around at the small lightning bugs that lit the dark clearing.

Yes, it was definitely rather interesting.

Perhaps it had been worth it to come with Canaria. After all, he'd had nothing better to do.

* * *

><p>"Okay, Izayoi-chan! We've arrived at the Iguazu Falls!" Canaria said, spreading her arms out wide. She was a drama queen, Izayoi thought, glancing at her.<p>

"I can see that, stupid hag."

"After I've gone through all the trouble of bringing you here, and you still act that way." Canaria said, folding her arms and looking down at Izayoi with her usual smile still in place.

"It's for the sake of the game or your project, is it not?" He replied, turning to look out at the falls from the bridge they were standing on. The falls were large indeed, and there was, he supposed, a good chance that a demon might live around them, in some cave or another.

The thought set his heart racing and blood rushing with excitement, and he couldn't help the wild grin that spread across his face, or the glint in his eye which he knew made him look somewhat maniacal.

And as they set off down the trails that would take them into the greenery around the falls, Izayoi couldn't quite wipe that excited expression off his face, but if Canaria noted that it looked slightly creepy, she gave no outward reaction towards it, simply striding ahead with, still smiling sweetly, and teasing him about how excited he looked even as the other adults in their tour group edged away from him, pulling their children with them. Izayoi almost rolled his eyes, but restrained himself, more than used to that reaction.

"Of course." He replied, still grinning as he clenched a fist. His blood was boiling with anticipation, his heart thrumming at the thought of a good fight.

Amazingly, Canaria did not object, did not give the usual lectures adults always gave about how one should stay out of fights, in their usual, adult-like inability to understand Izayoi. Instead, her smile turned _understanding_, and her eyes sparkled with almost as much excitement as Izayoi felt.

Canaria, Izayoi thought, was a woman who knew how to appreciate a good fight, and a good game. And that was very good, since they were going to be stuck travelling the world together for who knew how long playing their game, and then he'd either end up as Canaria's son, or she'd be his playmate for life, which translated to a lot of time spent together.

And unless Canaria tried to harm him or use him, Izayoi couldn't bring himself to mind - the amount of time they'd be spending in close proximity to one another, that is. She was nice enough, for a human.

The rest of their tour group was obviously unnerved, though, potentially due to the fact that Izayoi was leaking killer intent in his excitement.

They trekked along the paths, and Izayoi relished the cool, fresh air, Canaria removing her coat because it billowed out behind her and smacked people's faces, causing a nuisance and making Izayoi laugh. She waved off his sarcastic remarks, folding it neatly as Izayoi smirked.

The tour ended soon enough, and Izayoi shoved his hands in his pockets, turning to Canaria.

"So? Where do you think the most likely position is?" The two had only gone on the tour because they had agreed that it was the fastest way to scout out the area, and because some of the places the guide had brought them to had been excellent vantage points. After, there would have been absolutely no point in them wandering aimlessly, without getting a decent idea of where a demon would be hiding.

"There were a few caves that looked promising, and there's plenty of greenery that it could hide in." Canaria said, and Izayoi nodded. He'd thought the same, and with a grin and a careless, excited laugh, he turned back towards the trail, starting off with Canaria close behind.

This time, when Canaria's coat blew out behind her, nobody was there to care.

They combed through the forest, examining the canopy of the towering trees and scrutinising every branch, peering into caves they came across. The caves were damp, dark, and musky, the smell of bat droppings permeating the air while said mammals screeched overhead.

But there was no sign of any demon.

A bat flew far too close to Izayoi's face for comfort, and he whipped a hand out, snatching it from the air and feeling something crunch under his fingers. The small creature screeched as something in its wing snapped, and Canaria frowned at Izayoi in disapproval.

Disapproval was another emotion he was used to having directed at him. Izayoi snorted, ignoring her and examining the squirming creature in his uncompromising grip. The furry bat screeched again, small claws scrabbling helplessly at his fingers, and Canaria reached out, gently prying his fingers away. Izayoi considered grabbing harder in retaliation, but he wasn't sadistic - he didn't exactly _enjoy_ seeing things in pain, so he allowed her to pry his fingers away and the bat to slip from his grasp into Canaria's larger, gentler palm. The animal tried to fly away, but something was wrong with its wing, and it flapped pathetically before flopping back onto Canaria's hand.

"Izayoi-chan… Look what you've done!" She said, her voice disappointed and disapproving all at once. Izayoi gave a 'tch' in response, looking down at the pathetic creature.

"Don't just go hurting things like that!"

"Why does it matter?" He asked. People always hurt others for their own selfish reasons, and Izayoi didn't care about the world anyway - he hated it. So what did it matter if he hurt a bat?

"These creatures want to live too, you know? They need their wings to catch food, or return to their nests, and breaking its wing could kill it." Canaria replied.

"So?" Izayoi's favourite motto was 'crush the strong, crush the weak'. If you were weak, the strong would crush you. If you were strong, there was always someone stronger that would come along. Even weak people or creatures could hurt stronger ones, intentionally or not, because of stupidity on the other's part, or intelligence on their own, so it would be stupid to get too close just because something seemed weak. For example… "Stupid hag, put the damn thing down already - it could have rabies."

It was stupid to trust something, just because it seemed weak. Easier to just crush it if necessary.

"Aww… Izayoi-chan, are you worried about me?"

"Of course not, stupid, smelly hag; it'd just be annoying to have a rabid travelling companion."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let's go make camp; it's too late to keep searching anyway."

She turned, leading the way out of the cave, and Izayoi followed.

He noticed that she brought the bat with her.

* * *

><p>They ended up finding a small clearing and camping there. Izayoi wasn't sure if it was legal, since he didn't know much about that country's laws, but he decided that it did not matter - it wasn't like he cared; he'd done plenty of illegal things before. Theft, for example, and "accidentally" breaking a few buildings when his foster parents had tried to use him.<p>

He had wanted to eat first, but Canaria had insisted that they look after the bat.

"Izayoi-chan, you hurt it, and now you have to take responsibility." She had said.

"Why?" Izayoi didn't feel much for the animal, or he hadn't at first, but now when he looked down at the tiny, broken creature, which had given up on struggling and lay limp in Canaria's palm, he did feel a twinge of regret.

He'd never killed anything bigger than bugs before. He'd come close, but never quite _killed_, and that had to count for _something_, right? So he might as well make an effort to keep the stupid creature alive, at least until they managed to get it to some animal welfare centre. And if it _did_ die after that, he refused to feel anything for it.

It wasn't even human, so it didn't really matter - heck, he didn't even particularly mind if a human died.

"Because it's a living, breathing creature with a will of it's own, and why should we let it die when we can do something about it?" Canaria replied. "We're not killers."

Fine. He had to admit that there was truth in that, even though it was strange that Canaria would immediately presume that he was not a killer.

Then again, most did not suspect a child of murder - children were too sweet, too naive, too innocent and powerless.

Most did not remember that children were also animals, also people, and they had forgotten that cornered animals always fought. Desperation, fear, and adrenaline could do a lot to a human, even one as seemingly powerless as a child.

He sighed, shaking the thoughts from his head and digging in Canaria's bag for her first aid kit. Pulling it out, he nearly gaped at it as he realised that the first aid kit in particular was damn heavy. What did Canaria even keep in there?

He opened it to find an assortment of bandages, scissors, knives, needles, and… was that a stethoscope? Why on earth would the hag have a freaking stethoscope with her? There was thread as well, and tweezers, plus a metal bowl, which he grabbed.

Running purely on instinct, he grabbed the bandages, cutting off a good length of gauze and padding the bowl with it, before sticking some leaves and twigs in as well, under the assumption that the bat would be more relaxed in an area which resembled its natural habitat more closely. That meant that it'd be less likely to die of shock, right? He handed the box to Canaria, who deposited the tiny creature into the soft linings. It clawed about a bit, fumbling around, then lay still, and Izayoi thought it looked awfully close to death.

"Oi, smelly hag."

"I told you to stop it with the smelly hag. I have a name, you know?"

"Is it gonna die?"

"Depends. It may, but at least we tried." She looked up from the bowl. "You worried, Izayoi-chan?"

"Of course not. Why would I care?" He replied, glancing irritably at her.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?"

"I don't care about the stupid _bat_, smelly hag."

"Be honest about your feelings, Izayoi-chan." She said, a teasing note to her voice.

"I am. Why would I care about a stupid bat?"

"Because it is a living being, capable of thought and independent action, possibly with a mate or young back at its nest, which it is unlikely to ever get back to due to you injuring it's wing." Canaria had a finger in the air, explaining things in a very matter-of-fact manner and watching him carefully, as if expecting to see guilt or remorse.

Izayoi made sure that he displayed neither, putting an annoyed expression on his face.

"So?"

Perhaps it had been a little cruel of him to just snatch the creature from the air like that, since it hadn't exactly done anything to warrant such harsh retaliation, but then again, the world was simply like that, with people hurting others, despite the other having done nothing to be deserving of such hurt.

"If you were injured like that, wouldn't you have wanted somebody to help you?" No. Izayoi would not be idiotic enough to let himself be hurt like that, and if he was hurt, he understood that nobody would help him. Nobody cared enough to do so, and Izayoi was already fully aware of that.

"Nobody would come." He scoffed, looking down at the animal again and thinking that it was a very lucky creature to have such a stupid hag come along and decide to help it.

Canaria just sighed, shaking her head and giving him a knowing smile before turning away to prepare the food, calling over her shoulder.

"I would."

"Because you're stupid, hag."

"If helping others and being kind is stupid, then I'll stay an idiot."

"Not like anything you do would cure that stupidity of yours." Canaria laughed at that, her chiming, soothing laugh that made Izayoi feel, somehow, that if that all there was to stupidity, then he wouldn't mind being an idiot.

But actions always had their consequences, and the actions of an idiot would have the worst consequences of all.

"Look after bat-san, Izayoi-chan!" Canaria called in a singsong voice, and Izayoi scowled down at the furry creature, which was resting peacefully.

The next morning, they decided to backtrack to bring the bat to an animal welfare shelter, or, rather, Canaria informed Izayoi that they would do so, and had started off, forcing Izayoi to follow. Canaria did not, until much later, mention that her backpack was surprisingly light, or take notice of the strange lump that made Izayoi's backpack look much bulkier than it had been. She did not talk about how her first aid kit had mysteriously vanished, or question Izayoi about where it had gone. Not until later, at least, whereby Izayoi promptly explained that she'd slow them down with such a ridiculously heavy item in her bag, while he, on the other hand, was very well-equipped to handle the extra weight.

And while that was true, there was a tiny part of him, which said that it did not, necessarily, hate the hag's stupidity, only that it hoped that she would be intelligent enough to avoid, or at least reduce the harm of the consequences. She did not seem like a complete idiot, at least, and was relatively smart, so he thought she might be alright, even if it came with rather huge risks.

That tiny part of him wanted to trust the stupid hag, or at least, aid her a little, so that she would not suffer too badly.

But it was only a very tiny part of him that thought that, and it left almost as soon as it had come.

Almost, but not before Izayoi had taken the first aid kit from Canaria's bag and placed it into his own.

And that had to count for _something_, right?

**A/N:**

**Thanks for reading, and please drop me a review!**

**God bless!**


	3. Promises

**A/N:**

**Hi~ I'm back! Big thankies to Enemotou and StarlightAT, the awesome reviewers of this story. I love you guys. Thank you for all the follows and favourites too!**

**Um... I quite like this chapter. I think it's come out pretty nice, and it has clues about Izayoi's past... I hope you guys like it too, and please drop me a review to let me know what you think! I mean, if I'm screwing this up with a capital 'S', at least point me in the right direction, please?**

**Enjoy!**

**Warnings: Mild language, non-graphic mentions of blood.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, don't own the light novel or the anime. I do own my headcanon, though. XD**

**Promises**

**In which Izayoi meets a few unpleasant people from the past, and Canaria makes him a promise (a promise which he doesn't quite believe, but would really like to).**

The bat had been deposited in the nearest animal welfare shelter, but not before the stupid hag had double, triple, and quadruple checked that the clerk had her number and that he'd contact her about the bat's well-being ASAP.

Izayoi wondered if she'd noticed the man surreptitiously dumping her contact information in the dustbin as they left the building.

It didn't matter either way, he thought, because either the bat lived or it died, and neither would particularly affect his life. But then again, Canaria was showering him with with assurances that the bat definitely wouldn't die, since it'd survived the entire trip away from the falls and to the shelter with no visible ill-effects, and no matter how often he told her that he did not care, she simply smiled and added another reason why it would survive. So he was expecting the pathetic creature to make it out alive, and that counted for something, he supposed.

Whatever.

They'd decided on a cafe for lunch, and were feasting on sandwiches and chips, which Canaria noted idly would do horrible thing to her figure. Izayoi, kind soul that he was, offered to eat her chips for her. She politely declined his offer.

Pity.

"Izayoi-chan, what do you think of the trip so far?"

"It's okay." He replied, discovering that his plate was empty and reaching towards hers, only for his hand to be slapped away. Canaria pushed the salad to him instead, and he scowled at her. Salad was no substitute for chips, and she knew it.

She just smiled at him with the sweet, innocent but somewhat mysterious smile that Izayoi had come to learn was her poker face. Her mask and default expression, apparently. Smart. It wasn't good to let people see too many of your emotions, because emotions were the key to figuring out your thoughts.

"Do you like the world more now?" Izayoi thought about that for a moment. He had liked the Iguazu Falls, yes, had enjoyed the majestic view and the beautiful scenery. He had enjoyed the freedom and freshness of the wilderness, the beauty and the concept, the discovery of the unknown.

Did he like the world more for it?

"Not really." He answered. The world was populated by such a disgusting species, after all, full of cruelty and greed and horror and pain, and even if there were a few pretty places on a map, it was simply like sticking a small, pretty band-aid on a huge, gruesome, gaping, bloody wound - it was simply not enough.

Canaria smiled mischievously, a determined glint lighting up her eyes.

"Then I'll have to bring you around until you do. I'll make you admit that you love this world."

"Try it, stupid hag." Izayoi challenged, sure that she couldn't do it.

"I will. Thanks for the encouragement." Canaria replied, smiling sweetly. Izayoi scowled at her, crunching down on a piece of lettuce, when a dull thud sounded, and he glanced up to see Canaria face down on the table, her golden hair splayed across the dark wood.

"Oi, this isn't the place for a nap, stupid hag." She didn't move, didn't respond.

"Wake up already." He grabbed his glass of water, dumping the entire glass onto her head, but she didn't flinch, even as her bright hair was soaked and clumped together.

Strange… She probably wasn't acting, and she wasn't sleeping, and she wasn't dead - she still had a pulse, so that left…

Drugs.

That was when the cafe door banged open, men and woman flooding into the cafe and raising their guns to point at Izayoi and Canaria.

"We've got you now, you little freak." A man snarled, his ugly mug twisted into an equally ugly smile.

Oh, _come_ _on_.

* * *

><p>"<em>Stupid hag<em>!" Izayoi yelled, filled with blind fury and red hot rage that flowed through his veins like fire, filling his vision with crimson. "What kind of _idiot_ are you?" He practically spat, as he shook her limp body. What type of idiot was she, to not notice that her food was drugged? Izayoi's food probably hadn't been, for various reasons, the main one being that drugs, unless in incredibly, astronomically high concentration, did not work on him. Canaria flopped lifelessly as he shook her, and Izayoi glared at the men surrounding them.

"What did you do to her?"

If Canaria was going to die… If they had poisoned her…

He hated drugs, and he hated the damn irritating people who always came after him.

Izayoi didn't _usually_ hate them, of course, since they were distraction enough from his boring, unchanging lifestyle and no threat whatsoever, but drugging his only decent playmate was too low, even to him.

Calm down, _you damn idiot. Focus. You've got to keep a clear mind, or you might kill the damn lot._

_What's so wrong about that, actually? I've forgotten. I hate the world, I hate people, I hate the stupid, crappy lot._

_Why do I even care that the stupid hag might die? It's dumb._

He was so much angrier than he should have been, but with good reason.

Damn, he hated drugs. Just _hearing_ about them pissed him off.

"She's only drugged with sleeping pills, kid. Calm down. Just come with us and your mama won't be hurt." Izayoi had no mother, especially not that stupid hag.

Damn, he needed to calm down, or somebody might get killed, and while he wouldn't particularly mind the deaths of those thugs, having his playmate killed would be a downer.

Then the rage no longer blinded him, and was sucked into a burning fury that smouldered in his heart, a fire that scorched and burned and melted, roaring in his chest.

And he was able to think calmly, able to evaluate the situation.

He was one ten-year-old boy, and there were ten burly men and woman circling him in the cafe. The waiters and waitresses had taken cover behind the counter, and one of them had to have been the one to have drugged Canaria. One of them was a lackey of the organisation after him.

Didn't they have better things to do with their time than chase him? It was, frankly, annoying.

Still, if they wanted to play, that was fine. Izayoi's grin widened. Oh, yes, he would play.

But he would not play nice. He never played nice with people who did not play fair.

"Stupid, smelly hag. I will say it one last time. If you do not wake up, I will beat these bastards within an inch of their lives." No motion from the stupid hag. "They might die. I won't care." Not a sound, not a twitch.

"Fine. Entertain me, you bastards."

And before the thugs knew what hit them, Izayoi was on them, moving faster than the eye could see, a blur of blonde hair and navy jacket that shot among them like a bullet and took them out faster than guns. And the men collapsed, unconscious, beaten black and blue in the split second that Izayoi'd had with them, his fists flying faster than their minds could comprehend and taking them down.

"Boring!" He spat. "So boring." He looked down at their limp bodies, wishing they'd get up so that he could play more. They did not move, though, and it was no fun beating up defenceless opponents. With a sigh of annoyance, Izayoi turned and walked over to Canaria.

"Stupid hag. Wake up!" He said, splashing a cup of water over her face. She did not react. WIth an annoyed huff, he lifted her limp body on his back, ignoring how her legs dragged on the floor as he lugged her from the cafe.

He did not look back as he made the long trek back to their hotel, refused to meet the eyes of any terrified passer-by or take to heart any of the dark mutters and glances that were cast his way. He ignored the uncomfortable prickling sensation he got from their judgemental stares, long used to the feeling, and continued on, though his speed was considerably slower thanks to Canaria's weight and her awkward positioning on her back - he nearly dropped her once, or twice, or a bunch of times.

Still, what the hag didn't know wouldn't kill her.

There were probably people who were tracking them, and Izayoi was leaving a pretty obvious trail; a ten-year-old carrying a grown woman on his back was hard to miss, after all, so their pursuers were probably going to track them.

He didn't particularly mind, since he was feeling annoyed at the moment and needed to let it out.

Finally, finally he reached the hotel room, and Izayoi immediately deposited Canaria on her bed before flopping into his own, feeling tired for no apparent reason. He could sleep; he would wake immediately if anyone came for them.

Izayoi was experienced in that.

Heavy eyes sliding shut, Izayoi snuggled under the sheets, yawning, and surrendered to the blissful restfulness of sleep.

_Crimson liquid, sliding down his arms and making his palms slick. The air heavy with the metallic stench of blood and fear, mingled in a toxic combination that weighed heavily on his already slumped, tired shoulders._

_No more. No more, please, please no more._

_"Can't I stop now, kaa-san? It hurts. Can't I stop? Are we done?"_

_"Hush, Izayoi-chan. A few more tests, and we'll be done."_

_"I don't want any more!" His vision was blurring, his eyes filling with tears which he tried to hold back. The salty liquid would only hurt the wounds on his face more._

_"Stop!" He cried, as he watched her pick up another needle. "Stop it! I don't want any more!" She was ignoring him, bring the needle closer and holding his arm in a tight grip._

_"Stop it!" He yelled, and finally, finally, after hours upon hours, days upon days, weeks upon weeks of endurance, he lashed out, striking her across the face and sending her flying, a limp doll that was thrown across the room and hit the ground with a painful thump. A man who'd been at the computer got up and ran to her side as Izayoi cringed further into the corner._

_"Just stop it!" He cried, angry and scared and hurt as he struck blindly. "Stop!"_

_A loud smack echoed, an odd crunching sound filling his ears as his hand came into contact with something soft. His palm stung from the impact, and whatever he'd just hit cracked under it. There was a cry, and a thud, followed by gasping, strained, pain-filled breaths and then…_

_And then there was silence; utter, complete, absolute silence, broken only by Izayoi's soft sobs._

"Izayoi-chan! Wake up, sleepyhead." Izayoi jerked awake, springing up and lunging for the person, only to jerk to a stop as he recognised Canaria.

It had only been a dream, a memory which he'd thought he'd buried, uncovered by the experience of watching Canaria being drugged and the men attacking them.

Damn, he'd been more tired than he'd thought.

"Stupid hag, are you finally awake?" He asked, glancing out the window to find the sky was dark. He'd slept all day, then, and he hadn't awoken, meaning that there'd been no murderous intent directed towards them as he slept.

Strange, he hadn't woken up to the hag moving around. He was getting too comfortable around her, and Izayoi mentally berated himself for the slip-up.

"That's rude, Izayoi-chan! You woke later than me!"

"And you fell asleep first. Who do you think had to drag you all the way back to the hotel? How could you be stupid enough to get drugged?" He asked, face creased in an angry scowl. Stupid, careless hag.

"Sorry, that was indeed my fault." Canaria apologised, surprising Izayoi. "I was not sufficiently wary and failed to notice the threats."

"It wash't even fun beating those thugs up, stupid hag, so dinner better be good to compensate for lunch."

"Yes, yes, Izayoi-chan. I shall let you taste my fantastic home cooking." He scoffed, clambering out of bed, and then everything dissolved into chaos. The windows were shattered, sending sharp shards of glass flying everywhere, and the door was flung open with a resounding bang. Gunshots sounded and Izayoi glanced up, taking in the blur of bullets and reading their trajectories before darting into a safe zone and yanking Canaria with him.

Or at least, he tried to yank Canaria with him. His fingers closed around empty air as Canaria dove to the ground, which Izayoi supposed was a safe enough location.

The gunshots kept coming and Izayoi dodged and weaved, keeping a careful eye on Canaria to pull her out of danger if needed. A bullet grazed his arm as he was distracted, and he scowled, annoyed.

Stupid hag. She should at least defend herself so that he could focus on the fight.

"Hey!" Canaria's voice rang out above the gunshots, sharp and hard, cutting through the noise. "Stop!" And it must have been some sort of miracle, because the big brutes that had dived in to the room and let loose with their guns stopped firing, lowering their weapons to look at Canaria, a petite woman in a white overcoat.

Izayoi entertained the idea that Canaria had magic for a moment before dismissing it for later examination.

"What are you doing?" Canaria asked, and Izayoi groaned. Wasn't it obvious that they were here to attack them and finish what the first group of men had started? "What is your objective?"

"We're here for the boy. Hand him over, and we'll leave you alone." Izayoi tensed almost imperceptibly, glancing between Canaria and the men, placing a hand in his pocket and adopting an indifferent expression. And he waited for Canaria to adopt that smiling poker face he'd somehow gotten used to over the last week, to discuss the situation and finally…

Finally hand him over to the attackers.

After all, Canaria was a human, and, as a rule, people did not like him. It was a relationship he thought they'd established nice and clear until Canaria came along and decided to make his life more difficult with the puzzle of figuring out her intentions.

Still, the end result of the situation was clear to him. It was so obvious, the path that she'd choose, and Izayoi waited expectantly for her to take it.

She'd hand him over, and when that happened, Izayoi would cut them all down. He'd take down Canaria and the men and leave, ending the game and getting back to his boring, lonely life in a boring world, and maybe go ahead to destroy parts of the world.

It was a little sad that they'd have to end their time together, but Izayoi supposed it didn't matter - he was used to being alone. Pity though, she'd been the most interesting playmate he'd ever had.

"Denied." Izayoi head shot up. Had Canaria just…

"Absolutely rejected. This smart-mouthed brat is playing a game with me, and afterwards, when I win, he's going to be my son, so no can do."

She had. She wasn't going to abandon him, she wasn't going to leave him yet.

They could travel together for a while more, and continue their game.

Izayoi was so much more stupidly happy than he should have been. Still, all he did was mutter: "Stupid hag. I'm going to win."

"Yeah, yeah, Izayoi-chan."

"Stupid woman!" The man shouted. "This thing is a monster, a freak of nature! Hand him over and you can go safely-" He was cut off by his own strangled scream, collapsing in a spray of crimson with a wail that was dragged from deep in his throat, hoarse with agony.

Izayoi stared. He hadn't done a thing - the man had been shot, Izayoi'd seen the metal bullet streaking towards him. And from its trajectory and the movement he'd seen, it'd have been shot by…

"Oh dear! That looked _painful_." Canaria said, striding towards the men, all of which were lifting their guns to shoot her.

"Next person to insult me or cute little Izayoi-chan will be shot." She said, smiling sweetly as she lifted her sleek black gun.

The woman was an absolute, definite, certified crazy idiot.

Izayoi decided, for the very first time, right there and then, that he liked her.

And as the men began to shoot, Izayoi moved, sprinting towards them and crushing their guns under his fists as gunfire and smoke and screams rang clear in the room.

There was laughter too, but all of it belonged to Izayoi, as he tipped his head back and laughed, scornfully, joyfully, and a lot less emptily than usual.

It took a second for Izayoi to complete a circuit of the room, destroying all the guns of the twenty men who'd been surrounding them, and another three seconds for Canaria to finish them all off with her gun.

"That was dangerous, you stupid hag! Don't make yourself the damn target." Izayoi said irritably. It had been hard enough to protect her from the gunfire by demolishing all the guns; it would have been harder still if the men had not recognised Izayoi as the greater threat and aimed at Canaria instead.

"Izayoi-chan, you protected me! I'm touched." Canaria replied, still smiling.

"Shut up, smelly hag." Izayoi retorted. "Don't go doing stupid things."

He wasn't going to tell her that he'd protected her because she'd defended him first. It'd make him sound pathetic and weak, when really, Canaria defending him had simply been, to him, proof that it would be okay to trust her just a little.

It meant a lot to him, though.

"Oi, Izayoi-chan, did you think I was going to give you over to them?" Izayoi frowned. What was with that question?

"Does it matter?" He asked, turning away to survey the limp bodies of the men who'd attacked them. The men weren't dead, they'd simply been shot in non-vital areas and passed out from shock and pain. Izayoi snorted.

Weak, all of them.

A warm hand dropped on his shoulder, and Izayoi turned to see Canaria.

"Izayoi-chan, do you trust me?" The answer was simple, and Izayoi did not hesitate to give it.

"No." He didn't trust people, not at all, not even Canaria, who'd brought him to the Iguazu falls to challenge a demon and brought him back with a bat instead, who'd showed him fireflies and defended him against seemingly overwhelming odds.

Even though Izayoi still disliked the world, it had been rather fun, and for anyone else, any ten-year-old but Izayoi, it would probably have been enough to make them give their full trust to Canaria.

But Izayoi was different, despite Canaria's attempts to treat him as a normal ten-year-old.

"I see." Canaria was wearing a soft, sad smile, which was very unlike her usual, mischievous grin. "Do you trust anyone?"

"Myself." He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Ah. That's true, isn't it?" Canaria asked, and Izayoi glanced at her, confused. What was she talking about? His lack of trust in people? "Humans lie, cheat, and betray. They hurt others to achieve their goals, do whatever they have to to reach their ends." Izayoi chose not to react or respond, only turned his head away to look at the limp bodies of their attackers, crimson blood staining the beige carpet that coated the room's floor. He suspected that the carpet would have to be replaced.

"Izayoi-chan. They've hurt you, too, correct?" His head whipped up, and Izayoi stared, shocked, at Canaria.

"What are you talking about, you stupid, smelly hag?" Canaria just gave a small, hollow laugh.

"You've already confirmed it, Izayoi-chan~" He gritted his teeth, glowering at the bloody rug and watching as the bloodstain crept towards his feet, the mens' wounds still leaking blood in a constant stream. Somehow, he felt as if his weakness had been exposed. "What happened? What did they do?" Canaria asked, losing her teasing tone, her voice becoming sharper and more businesslike.

"None of your business, hag."

"I suppose so, huh? You don't trust me either. Why do you trust game conditions, though? Is that not equivalent to trusting people?" No harm in telling her. He shrugged.

"The game is my main goal, and if it's fun, then I don't really care about the prize. And if I win, I can just help myself to the prize like it or not." Meaning that so long as he did not lose the game, he would not lose anything except maybe some of his time. And if the other side wasn't going to play fair, then why should he?

Idly, he noted that the bloodstain on the rug was edging towards his toes.

"I see. Izayoi-chan, do you want to cut a deal with me?"

"What?" He asked, turning to her.

"It's not really a deal, but I'll make you a promise: I'll never betray or abandon you." Canaria said, smiling, and Izayoi huffed.

"We'll see." He said, looking out the window into the night sky. Canaria shoved her hand into his field of vision, and Izayoi looked down to see that she'd made a fist, but left her smallest finger sticking out.

"… What are you doing?"

"It's called a pinky swear, Izayoi-chan! Haven't you ever seen it before?"

"No." Canaria's warm, slender fingers wrapped around Izayoi's arm, gently tugging his hand from his pocket and to her other, still outstretched, hand, taking his pinky and wrapping it around hers. When she let her hand drop, their pinkies were intertwined, and Izayoi blinked at them, then up at Canaria.

"It's done to signify that a promise has been made. I will never betray or abandon you. Even if I die, I'll keep watching you until you're sick and tired of me, and then I still won't leave."

"That's creepy, you stupid hag."

"It's a promise, Izayoi-chan."

And Izayoi still doubted her, and he didn't fully trust her, but she was much more sincere than anyone else had ever been to him, so while he still suspected it to be one big act with ulterior motives, Izayoi supposed it'd be okay to check out her character, and see if it was really alright to trust her.

And if he was honest with himself, which Izayoi always tried to be, the idea of being able to trust someone, especially this woman, appealed to him.

* * *

><p>"I'm fine, you stupid hag! Leave me alone." Izayoi stood defensively, facing Canaria with an annoyed scowl on his face and one hand clamped protectively over the graze wound he'd received, courtesy of a certain bastard's bullet.<p>

Incidentally, he was also standing on the couch, as Canaria stood in the middle of the blood-soaked carpet, her toes being stained scarlet.

"Izayoi-chan, get off the sofa. It's bad enough that we've gotten blood all over the nice rug." It wasn't _his_ fault that there were boring bastards like that who'd deserved to be beaten up. Anyway, it wasn't like he'd _asked_ them to attack him.

"You're the one who's got blood all over your feet, stupid hag."

"But you've got lots of blood dripping down your arm. Look at the couch cushion!" Oops. The cushion was done for, if the giant crimson stain that coated it was any indication. Ah well. They'd already ruined a rug, and a bunch of peoples' faces, so what was one cushion?

"Doesn't matter." He said.

"Of course it does. High-quality pillows are expensive. Now get down so I can treat your wound." Like the pillow would be a high-quality one.

"I'm fine!" Annoying hag. Stupid hag. Brainless, smelly hag.

Nosy, stupidly sincere, trust-inducing hag, that made him want to believe her probably empty promises. Why did she make him want to trust her?

Damn it. He shouldn't want to believe her, but yet, at the same time, he did, even though he'd probably just end up hurt.

"You are not, Izayoi-chan. Get down here so I can tape up the wound."

"I can do it myself." Izayoi held out a hand for the tape.

"With one hand?" Canaria raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"It's possible." He grinned at her.

"Rejected. Get down here."

"Denied."

"You're not allowed to deny it. Hurry up and let me bandage the wound so that we can go eat dinner without you dripping blood everywhere." Izayoi sighed. He really couldn't be bothered to keep arguing, so he hopped lightly from his perch on the couch and stuck his injured hand out roughly, wincing as the wound twanged with pain.

That had been a bad move.

"See? You're not fine." Canaria said, bending over to spray antiseptic on the bloody gash. Izayoi gritted his teeth tightly, taking care not to let the pain show on his face. The blood, mixed with the antiseptic, ran in a scarlet stream down his arm, and Canaria mopped it up gently with a tissue, before dabbing the edges of the wound dry.

He didn't get it. Why was she being so gentle and kind and protective over him? What was her goal?

Why did she act like she really cared?

Because she wouldn't - she couldn't. Nobody would, and he was destined to be alone. So why did she keep pretending that he mattered to her? It was obvious that she shouldn't.

He wished that she'd just reveal her true intent already, so he didn't have to keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was easier to deal with people who were cruel inside and out, than people who sugarcoated everything, concealing their malice, because when you trusted a person, and let down your guard, the blow of the truth hit like a sledgehammer.

Betrayal hurt, and one could only be betrayed if there was trust in the first place.

Izayoi fully understood that.

So why, _why_ did he feel compelled to trust this woman?

* * *

><p>"Izayoi-chan, isn't it time you let me know what happened last night? Who were those people?" Canaria asked Izayoi over breakfast the next morning. They had moved to another hotel; the hotel manager in the previous hotel had been rather… unsettled by the attack on his hotel and the blood in their room's carpet (Izayoi had been right, it did need to be replaced - the blood wouldn't wash out), not to mention the gun-wielding, now unconscious brutes that lay strewn around the room.<p>

The police had been called, which had thus led to a lot of paperwork and incredulous looks when they learnt that the twenty burly men, all of which had been trained elites of an underground organisation, had been taken out by Izayoi and Canaria, a ten-year-old boy and a petite young woman who looked to be in her twenties. That was, until one of them had identified Izayoi as the boy who'd been in the news a couple of years ago, and the one who'd revealed incriminating evidence against many of his foster parents to the police.

They had nearly called Izayoi a freak, and a monster, until Canaria had pulled her gun on them.

The stupid hag, she'd nearly gotten them arrested for threatening a police man - weren't adults supposed to be sensible?

Still, he couldn't deny that he'd sort of enjoyed having somebody to stand up for him for once, and he kind of owed her for that, right?

"One of my foster parents was some big shot of an underground organisation." Izayoi replied, spearing a sausage on his fork. "He tried to use me."

"And?"

"He was a bastard, and I don't like being used by people, so I exposed his crimes to the media and the police. His cronies are obviously pissed. They probably tracked us and found us in the cafe." Izayoi left out the part about them tracking him practically everywhere, no matter how many times he moved, because the hag should have been able to figure it out if they had been tracked all the way there.

"_Language_, Izayoi-chan." The hag was weird. Most people would have focused on the fact that the underlings of an underground organisation were coming after him, and by extension, Canaria, but the stupid hag decided to comment on his language.

Weird woman.

He snorted, digging into his omelette, and decided that the best thing about hotels was the chefs that always prepared eggs at the breakfast buffets.

"Izayoi-chan."

"What?" Izayoi asked, stuffing a mouthful of eggs into his mouth.

"Did he hurt you? Your foster parent." Canaria asked, looking at him seriously. Izayoi cast her a look. She didn't need to pry into his past. It was a boring, uninteresting place - _he_ certainly hadn't enjoyed it.

"Nope. He was boring."

"Ah? Really?"

"Yep."

"That's good. At least he didn't hurt you." She said, smiling at him. Izayoi looked away.

"Stupid hag."

"I told you to stop calling me that. Anyway, is it so stupid to be worried about you?"

"Yes. I don't need you to look after me."

"Mm. I suppose. But I want to."

"Why?" Why bother? Why did she want to look after a person who did not need it? Why look after Izayoi, of all people?

He didn't get it. He couldn't understand.

"Go look after some orphans or something. I bet they need it more." Izayoi said, shredding his bread roll and smearing it in butter.

"Izayoi-chan isn't an orphan?"

"Who knows? My parents could be alive. Maybe I'm just abandoned." Probably. They probably hadn't wanted him and thrown him away, as humans were prone to doing.

"So it's not stupid to look after you. According to you, looking after orphans isn't stupid."

"I may not be an orphan. Anyway, I just told you I can take care of myself, so that negates your argument."

"But you need my help most."

"I just said I don't need your help, stupid hag."

"You're not lonely?"

"Does it matter? Loneliness plays no part in whether or not I need your help."

"Not true, Izayoi-chan. Isn't being lonely the most painful thing? It makes you feel empty and hollow and it hurts until you wanna die."

"I don't want to die, you stupid hag."

"But you _are_ lonely." Izayoi stared at her, and she stared back, a smile still on her face but eyes completely serious.

"I don't need your help."

_I don't. I don't need anyone. I don't need this stupid hag. I don't need people to help me._

_… Because, when I need their help, they'll just let me down. If I can handle things on my own, I should not get used to relying on people - it'll make me lazy._

_I'm tired of being disappointed. I'm tired of thinking that I can trust people, but finding out that I've once again underestimated human cruelty._

_Stop acting this way, you stupid hag, and reveal your true intent already._

Canaria gave him a knowing smile. "Izayoi-chan, be honest. It's okay to let people help you."

"People won't help." He replied, and he didn't know whether he was referring to how people would refuse to help, or saying that people couldn't help him.

Probably a bit of both.

"People are better than you think." Izayoi couldn't help it - he laughed at that. He laughed long and hard and brash, until everyone was staring at him as his shoulders shook and he tipped his head back, grinning madly, until he didn't know if the sound was amused or happy or scornful or sad, until he couldn't tell if the tear that spilled from one eye to trail down his cheek was from laughing too hard or because he couldn't take it anymore, all the hypocrisy and cruelty and pain that came with interacting with people.

"No," he choked out, and he couldn't tell if he was having trouble speaking because he was laughing so hard or because he was trying not to cry for real now, because everything was stupid and cruel and painful, because everything nice that happened to him was either a product of his own work or a cruel joke played on him by the evil, manipulative people in the world. "No, they're really not." He was still smiling, always smiling, his scornful, hateful, brash smile, but he was angry and sad and hurt inside.

And then Canaria was there by his side, gently wiping the tear from his face and patting his hair, and Izayoi turned to scowl at her, forcing himself back to his senses and pushing her away. Not as hard as he could, but hard enough that she hit the table, hard enough that when she hit the table, all the silverware and cutlery and plates clattered, clinking loudly and drawing attention.

That was when the whispers started, families and couples and waiters and people all staring at Izayoi and whispering about spoilt brats and violent children, disrespectful wretches and ungrateful little monsters. And Izayoi still smiled, a wide, cracked, broken sort of smile, mingled with amusement and marred by anger, a bittersweet grin of broken happiness.

This was how humans really were. Quick to judge, quick to whisper and criticise, and even quicker to hurt.

But Canaria, the strange, crazy, stupid hag, picked herself from the table, smiling her favourite poker smile, and grabbed a napkin, wiping away the tear track that still stained his face. Her touch was so gentle, and as she stared into his eyes, her smile changed into something kind and understanding.

"I know how it feels, Izayoi-chan. I know. You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

Izayoi took the napkin from Canaria, grinning his own poker smile, a wide, amused, hateful grin full of scorn.

"Humans are scum." He said, and he tossed aside the napkin and wiped away the tears in his eyes with a finger, so that it looked like he had really been laughing with amusement, and tearing from laughing so hard. Perhaps that had been all it had been. "All humans are pathetic scum."

"You're a human, and you're not pathetic, nor are you scum. And I'm a human too, but I am not pathetic scum."

"Because you're an idiot. And besides," Izayoi stared Canaria in the eye, clear amethyst meeting brilliant emerald. "What makes you think I'm human?"

Because what he was capable of? It wasn't normal, not even human. And he'd been told so many times, over and over, that he was a freak, a monster, that he'd begun to believe it. It didn't matter to him, of course, simply meant that he could not interact with humans, and since he hated them all anyway, that was no big loss, was it?

He scared them, they avoided him. Izayoi thought that it was a perfectly satisfactory arrangement, and he was perfectly happy with it, thank you very much.

Or at least, that had been the arrangement until he met Canaria.

"You are definitely a human." Canaria told him, placing a gentle hand on his cheek and allowing it to trail down along his jawline, the skin of her palm soft and cool against his face. His eyes widened in shock, since nobody had ever told him that before, at least, not with this much sincerity.

He couldn't even see signs that she was lying, that this was a trick, even though he knew from past experience that logically, that was what it was.

Just lies, empty words, an elaborate, cruel trick played to hurt him, to use him, to manipulate him.

He had to remember that, even though he longed to trust this woman, this stupid hag who valued the lives of everything, even bugs and stupid bats.

Because people placed even less value on the lives of those they deemed monsters than they did on the animals of the world. It was annoying, frankly, because Izayoi valued his life, and he did not want to be dead. No thank you. Not that day, nor the next, nor the day after. The world may have been boring, but he preferred it to being bored _and_ dead.

"You're definitely a human, Izayoi-chan! A human that's extremely special and amazing - an extraordinarily talented human. That's all."

So why did the hag defend him? Why did she insist that he was human? Had she not seen how inhuman he was? Or - was if possible? Dare he believe it? - had she seen, and understood, but accepted it?

A stupid thought, a crazy thought, an insane wisp of an idea, one that should never have crept into his mind - the stupid hag's influence must have been wearing off on him.

But, he realised, if it was this woman, this idiotic, stupid hag, it was possible.

He trusted her too much, and she was too stupid for her own good, going around being kind to everything and anything, but maybe, just maybe, that combination might allow him some sort of decent bond with her.

And this time, when he thought that, it wasn't just some tiny part of him that fled back into a dark corner after, but a part of his mind and heart that lingered on the thought, so that he couldn't simply forget or dismiss the notion.

He refused to show it, though, simply snorting and turning his face away.

"Whatever, you idiot."

He wondered if she noticed that her idiocy had excluded her from being lumped with the rest of the pathetic scum that humans were in Izayoi's eye.

If she did, she gave no sign, standing up with a smile.

"At least we've established that you're a human. Now, if only I could get it in your head that I'm not an idiot, or a stupid, smelly hag."

"In your dreams, hag."

She would firmly remain an idiot in Izayoi's mind, but then again, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Because she was an idiot, but she was a kind one, a possibly trustworthy one, and she was smart enough, so maybe, just maybe, things would work out right.

It was a hope Izayoi hadn't help in years, a possibility of a bright future even for one as idiotic as Canaria.

It wasn't half bad.

** A/N:**

**I hope I didn't botch Izayoi's character - I was really trying my best for this chapter, and I'm quite happy with the end result.**

**I gave a lot of clues about his past, can you figure out what happened? There are hints in the second chapter too, actually, but they're very, very subtle and require a lot of reading into, so you can just wait 'till I reveal everything in later chapters. XD**

**On another note, I don't seem to do cliffies much. Should I start? But it feels so darn mean that I always try to end my chapters on a nice note... Ah well.**

**Anyway, yeah. Please review if you have time, because they really encourage me to write more - really KNOWING that people like your fic is MAJOR motivation to us writers, you know? And if I really messed something up, I need someone to point it out so I can make the story better!**

**Thanks for reading, and God bless!**


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